This image released by Fox Searchlight shows Michael Fassbender, left, and Chiwetel Ejiofor in a scene from "12 Years A Slave." (AP Photo/Fox Searchlight, Francois Duhamel)

At the 20th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations Wednesday, Steve McQueen's historic saga "12 Years a Slave," an unflinching look at early-American servitude, boosted its Academy Awards prospects with a leading four nods - three of the four main acting categories and Outstanding Performance by a Cast.

John Wells' dysfunctional family adaptation "August: Osage County," which hits theaters Dec. 25 and features an all-star cast including Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts, also built awards-season momentum with three nominations, including Outstanding Performance by a Cast.

The SAG nominations are one of Hollywood's first major announcements on the long road to the 82nd Academy Awards on March 2. The 71st annual Golden Globe nominations, also thought to be a bellwether of Oscar success, will be revealed Thursday morning.

Joining the SAG list for Outstanding Performance by a Cast are Jean-Marc Vallée's gritty AIDS drama "Dallas Buyers Club," the sweeping White House servant tale "Lee Daniels' The Butler" - which each received three nominations - and David O. Russell's con-artist romp "American Hustle," a fictionalized look at the 1970s Abscam scandal, which also scored a supporting nod for Jennifer Lawrence.

"12 Years a Slave" attained individual acting nominations for male lead Chiwetel Ejiofor as a displaced free African-American man, Michael Fassbender for his supporting role as a ruthless slave owner and Lupita Nyong'o for female support as a favored fieldworker.

"August: Osage County," the adaptation of Tracy Letts' Pulitzer- and Tony-winning play had individual nominations for Streep for female lead as the conflicted matriarch, and Roberts as supporting female actor for her portrayal as the domineering daughter.

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Additional best-actress nominees included Cate Blanchett as a fallen socialite in Woody Allen's "Blue Jasmine," Sandra Bullock as a brave astronaut in Alfonso Cuarón's lost-in-space odyssey "Gravity," Judi Dench as a woman in search of her son in "Philomena" and Emma Thompson as author P.L. Travers in the Disney comedy "Saving Mr. Banks."

June Squibb, as a spitfire in Alexander Payne's small-town comedy "Nebraska," and Oprah Winfrey as the bold Gloria Gaines in "The Butler," also received supporting noms.

"Dallas Buyers Club" scored nominations for lead actor for Matthew McConaughey as an HIV-positive rodeo lover and supporting actor Jared Leto as a transgender woman. Forest Whitaker received a lead-acting nomination for his portrayal of a longtime White House servant in "Lee Daniels' The Butler."

Others bringing in lead nominations: Bruce Dern, for his portrayal of an aging dreamer in "Nebraska"; and Tom Hanks, who plays the title role in Paul Greengrass' Somali pirate story "Captain Phillips."

Ron Howard's Formula One tale "Rush" brought in two nominations, including Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble.

Noticeably absent from the list was Spike Jonze's futuristic computer love story "Her," starring Joaquin Phoenix, and Martin Scorsese's stockbroker fete "The Wolf of Wall Street," which features performances by Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill.

On the television side, AMC's just-concluded "Breaking Bad" topped the list with four nods, including stunt ensemble.